Definition

1. Noun:

   • Night, Evening: The period of darkness between sunset and sunrise; the latter part of the day and early part of the night.
   • Darkness: The absence of light.

2. Adjective:

   • Dark: Having little or no light; not light in color.
   • Dull, Dense (intellect): Not intelligent or quick to understand.

3. Adverb (colloquial):

   • Extremely, Very: Used as an intensifier before adjectives.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Tối nay chúng ta đi xem phim. (We are going to the movies tonight.)
  • Căn phòng chìm trong bóng tối. (The room was plunged into darkness.)
• Adjective:
  • Căn phòng này quá tối. (This room is too dark.)
  • Cậu ấy học hơi tối. (He is a bit slow at learning.)
• Adverb:
  • Công việc này tối quan trọng. (This work is extremely important.)

Advanced Usage

• "tối tăm": (adjective) gloomy, dark (both literally and figuratively, e.g., a dark future).
  • Tương lai thật tối tăm. (The future looks very gloomy.)
• "tối cổ": (adjective, colloquial) extremely old-fashioned or antiquated.
  • Quan điểm đó tối cổ rồi. (That viewpoint is extremely antiquated.)

Variants and Related Words

• Buổi tối (n): Evening.
  • Buổi tối là lúc gia đình sum họp. (Evening is when the family gathers.)
• Tối mắt (adj): Dizzy, unable to see clearly (often from stress or overwork).
  • Làm việc nhiều quá, tôi thấy tối mắt. (I worked so much I feel dizzy.)
• Lớp học tối (n): Night class.
  • Anh ấy theo học một lớp học tối. (He attends a night class.)

Synonyms

• Night: đêm.
• Dark: tăm tối, âm u.
• Dull (intellect): đần độn, chậm hiểu.
• Extremely: cực kỳ, vô cùng.

Related Idioms

• Tối như bưng / tối như hũ nút: Pitch black, completely dark (like being blindfolded or like a sealed jar).
  • Đường hầm tối như bưng. (The tunnel was pitch black.)
• Tối lửa tắt đèn: Literally "when the fire is dark and the lamp is out"; refers to the dark of night when unexpected or unfortunate events might happen, or a time of urgent need.
  • Hàng xóm nên giúp đỡ nhau lúc tối lửa tắt đèn. (Neighbors should help each other in times of urgent need.)
• Tranh tối tranh sáng: Literally "part dark, part light"; twilight, dusk; or a situation that is unclear, ambiguous.
  • Câu chuyện vẫn còn trong giai đoạn tranh tối tranh sáng. (The story is still in an unclear, ambiguous phase.)

noun

1. night, evening

adj

1. dark dull, dense

adv

1. extremely